Welcome to Survival of the Fittest, a RPing board loosely based off of Koshun Takami's Battle Royale, with its own unique plot and spin on the 'deadly game'. We've been around quite a while, and are now in our thirteenth year, so don't worry about us going anywhere any time soon!

If you're a newcomer and interested in joining, then please make sure you check out the rules. You may also want to read the FAQ, introduce yourself and stop by the chat to meet some of our members. If you're still not quite sure where to start, then we have a great New Member's Guide with a lot of useful information about getting going. Don't hesitate to PM a member of staff (they have purple usernames) if you have any questions about SOTF and how to get started!

No, that was an understatement. He felt like shit. How that was any different from feeling like crap, Sunil didn't know, but he just knew it was worse.

He felt sick, he felt bored (it was a little thing to complain about, but Sunil was sure he wasn't alone in missing all the little comforts and distractions from his comfortable everyday life), he felt depressed (the thought of an impending premature death was hardly the most comforting of thoughts), he was paranoid as fuck, he'd just seen a guy got shot for no god damn reason...

He still wasn't sure whether running away like a coward was the right thing to do.

Sure, it was pragmatic, but the whole shooting was probably a misunderstanding or something. And maybe the extra little help he could have provided would have been enough to save the victim's life.

Or maybe he would have just got in the way.

Burying his head in his hands, Sunil slid down onto the ground, a small, lonely tree stump propping his back up. He had no idea what to do any more.

And the recent "semi-announcement" from Danya (well, Mr. Kwong to be exact) hadn't helped.

It had temporarily resparked a hope that escape was possible, a third option existed with enough work and determination. And just as quickly, it had snuffed it out. Danya was offering whoever killed this Polanski girl (Sunil didn't know her that well, but judging that the life of Mr. Kwong was apparently an effective bargaining chip for her made her seem like a teacher's pet) a weapon.

And all those dumb souls who had already succumbed to the temptation of the game would probably lap it up.

It was frustrating, but Sunil had to be harsh and admit that, since all hope of even her escaping was negligible, he really couldn't give a shit about her plight. Yes, it would be nice if she escaped and lived happily ever after, probably to start a lucrative career in reality TV, but unless it was him or someone close to him escaping, did Sunil give a shit?

Endless hunks of wood no taller than his ankles stretched as far as the eye could see. An entire section of forest had been cleared as if by magic, leaving nothing but scattered logs and thin foliage among the clean-cut expanse.

The sky was orange, casting a glow that made the setting seem even more eerie. He felt almost as if he had walked through a wormhole in the forest and came out on another planet, staring out into what those creatures called a forest. Or perhaps a city for a race of tiny, anti-sized creatures with miniature ray guns and ships that could fly up his nose.

Okay, I AM going insane.

He was shaken from his reverie at the sight of a dark lump sitting against a stump.

The shock of it caused him to almost fall over; while ordinarily he'd have ducked behind a log, his head had been hurting more lately and he had gotten more dizzy. Rather than leap to the side in a move that would make Marcus Fenix proud, he made a half-hearted stumble and caught himself on a stump.

What was he supposed to do? Kill this kid? Somehow, he was amazed if he could do something like that. He wanted to survive. Hell, even on the first day he was hoping he'd find some idiot with a good weapon, beat the crap out of them, and finish off the game perfectly. But ever since he hit his head, he had been feeling......odd. Like there was something else in there.

He pushed the thoughts aside. For now, it was do or die.

He cracked his neck, hefted the cinderblock in his hand, and began to slowly move forward, inching as slow as humanly possible toward Sunil. Half out of fear, half out of stealth. Once he did this, there was no going back.

18:38 GeneralGoose yep. having sex with trees is SOOOO me20:36 Ella I have had several threesomes with teddy bears13:41 Ruggadance THIS IS DIFFERENT AMPUTEE SEX 21:09 Bake I'll nom her.13:16 Ruggasexy I SAW THE SEXY STRIPPER PICTURES BEFORE I KNEW OUR ROOM WAS FULL OF SEX TOYS AND LINGERIE22:53 Ruggadressed You've got to be like Brosidon, king of the brocean 11 GeneralGoose [516] [1288] [267] 2086 Geno, remember when I told you sleep was a capitalist scam?24 Crash [165] [697] 873 wild, unbridled, rampaging weasel lust00:07 BetaKnight open wounds and fecal matter is a no-no

Utterly miserable. That's how Garry felt at that point in time. It wasn't because he was hungry, having nearly run out of his rationed food supplies. It wasn't because he was only armed with a stick he'd picked up from the forest. It wasn't because he was still slightly sore all over. It was because while travelling from the coast to his current location, he'd had plenty of time to think. And boy did he have a lot to negative things to think about.

Several people he knew had died over the past four hellish days, close friends and aquaintances alike. Cyrille, Dougal, Violetta, Hermione, Miranda, Luke and Dan. They'd all died, and he was still alive to lament over their deaths. It just didn't feel right at all; Garry felt that he didn't deserve to live. He'd failed them, especially Cyrille and Violetta. He'd made a promise to the French girl and yet he wasn't able to keep it. Words could not explain just how pathetic Garry had felt upon hearing her girlfriend's name over the loudspeakers.

The only consolation he could think of was that the pair of them were now together in the afterlife, providing there actually was one. Garry hoped there really was, and not just for their sakes but for everyone's, as well as his. He didn't want to believe that after someone died, it was all over, their soul and mind were gone for good. Garry didn't delve into the afterlife aspects of werewolves when browsing online, he didn't even know if they even had one. After all, they were supposed to be immortal and couldn't die, unless they were killed with silver bullets, decapitated or set on fire.

Garry shuddered at the thought of being burned alive or having his head chopped off. 'That was... pleasant.'

He sighed and sat down on a tree stump, one of literally hundreds in the immediate area. His stomach rumbled, but Garry forced himself to ignore the sounds coing from his belly. He had to conserve what little food and water he had left. He held up the branch and found himself wondering what it would taste like. 'Whoa, back the hell up, did I just consider eating this? I ain't no damn beaver.'

He shook his head and casually glanced to his side to get a good look at his surroundings. His grip on the branch tightened considerably at what his eyes suddenly came across. "What the fuck?!" he cursed under his breath, standing straight up. Someone, Garry couldn't tell who, was lying on the ground amongst the stumps in the near distance. A boy crept towards him or her, holding something that looked like a massive grey brick in his hand. 'Is... is he about to kill someone with that thing?!' Garry thought, alarmed at the sight.

Memories of Clio's slaughter of Luke raced through his mind: Clio sitting with the smoking gun; Luke's brains splattered over the grass; Garry just standing there as it happened, powerless to stop it.

Garry gritted his teeth as he glared at the male, feeling his heart beating harder in his chest. He wasn't going to let something like that happen again. He wasn't going to just stand back and watch while this guy crushed the other person's skull in. He was going to make a difference this time round. 'You're not killing anyone today, not if I can help it!' Garry thought, leaping forwards and charging towards the boy.

"Hey! Drop the fucking brick, now!" Garry shouted out, brandishing the stick in both hands as he ran between the tree stumps as best he could, considering his ankle was still playing up. The branch was no substitute for the ji he'd carted along previously, but if he really needed to, it would still be good for delivering a good whack.

Being asleep, and having a rather nice dream involving a spa, a zombie apocalypse and a hot chick (which shall not be detailed here), Sunil had no idea of the steadily approaching cinderblock-armed psycho. Even if he was awake, he wasn't in the most perceptive condition, leaving him open to whatever grisly fate any random passers-by felt like inflicting on him.

Sleeping in the middle of the open was rather comfortable for Sunil.

Sure, it wasn't the best strategy and it betrayed Sunil's defeatist, lazy, don't-give-a-shit attitude to the world at large, but as was common with people with don't-give-a-shit attitudes, he didn't give a shit.

Were it not for Garry's timely intervention, Sunil's temporary lapse of judgement could have been the end of him.

However, Garry, in a heart-warming but also rather stupid display of altruism, did intervene with more than enough time to spare. He also happened to wake up Sunil, at the WORST possible moment. Just when the dream was getting good. I mean, before it was just a bunch of absurdist hi-jinks with maths teachers kicking zombies in the face and evacuation centres being like duty-free bits at the airport, but hell; he was locked in a spa with a hot chick and there were just about to have so fun....

But no, Mr. Beard decides to save his life and protect him.

Prick.

As Sunil groggily came to, he was too tired to assess the situation around him, and just mumbled incoherently as his vision tried to restore itself.

A voice was heard distantly in the background, faintly ringing in Jake's ears. It was mostly disguised by his heart pounding, distracted in the heat of the moment by the impending murder.

His headache was back. He turned.

Big man with a beard, Garry the fucking werewolf, holding a tree branch. He felt a distant sense of deja vu at the sight of his weapon, but couldn't quite place it. Either way, he was about ready to beat the crap out of this dude. "You ready, buddy?" he growled, hefting the cinderblock in his right hand.

I've always been ready

The voice was gritty, rough. Slightly mocking. Somehow, Jake knew where it was coming from. Despite the tone it was strangely comforting. The kind of voice that would always bring you good suggestions. Jake accepted the voice. His eyes began to blur slightly.

18:38 GeneralGoose yep. having sex with trees is SOOOO me20:36 Ella I have had several threesomes with teddy bears13:41 Ruggadance THIS IS DIFFERENT AMPUTEE SEX 21:09 Bake I'll nom her.13:16 Ruggasexy I SAW THE SEXY STRIPPER PICTURES BEFORE I KNEW OUR ROOM WAS FULL OF SEX TOYS AND LINGERIE22:53 Ruggadressed You've got to be like Brosidon, king of the brocean 11 GeneralGoose [516] [1288] [267] 2086 Geno, remember when I told you sleep was a capitalist scam?24 Crash [165] [697] 873 wild, unbridled, rampaging weasel lust00:07 BetaKnight open wounds and fecal matter is a no-no

So this guy wasn't going to be killing the other boy now (yeah, the person on the ground definitely looked like he was a boy, or it was a very manly looking girl), so that was good. Bad news was that now he was charging towards Garry with a large brick in hand. 'Aw hell, what have I just got myself into?'

It was too late to back down now, the boy was closing in fast. Garry held the branch steady and slowed to a stop, anticipating the incoming attack. 'Have to stop him, have to hit him, but where? The head, yeah, that has to slow him down and give us a chance to get out of here.' Jake got closer, raising the cinderblock and preparing to strike. Garry was ready and waiting, and he swung the branch at Jake's head as soon as he was in range.

Unfortunately, having been lying on the forest floor for several days at least, the branch Garry had picked up had become moldy and had rotted inside. As a result, the moment it made contant with his attacker's skull, the branch simply broke into two pieces and did virtually nothing to help.

"Oh... fuck," Garry spoke, staring in disbelief at the shattered piece of wood in his hands. That was not meant to happen. He didn't have time to linger on his broken 'weapon' though, for Jake was still very much able to attack, seemingly unperturbed by the weak blow to his head. He swung the block downwards, Garry moving his body and attempting to dodge out of the way of certain death.

While he managed to avoid a fatal hit to the top of his head, the corner of the cinderblock caught just below his left temple and scraped painfully down his cheek, leaving a much uglier wound than Clio's nails could ever hope to achieve. And it hurt a lot more as well. Garry cried out, stepping backwards and putting his left hand to where the pain was originating from. The side of his face badly stung when he touched it and he could feel warm blood leaking onto his fingers. 'Oh that sonofabitch!'

Jake swung the brick backwards, preparing for a second go round. Garry knew that he had to prevent him from attacking again, and so his first reaction was to hurl the remains of the piece of wood at Jake's face. It seemed to work; it hit him just below his eye, making him let go of the cinderblock in mid-swing so it flew backwards and hit the ground behind him with a dull thud.

It didn't completely stop Jake and he still came at Garry, using his fists in place of a weapon. Garry put his muscled arms up, trying to weather the strikes that rained down on him. One punch made it through his defenses though and clocked him straight in the chin. Garry staggered backwards away from Jake, moaning and holding his aching chin, succeeding in coating his beard with even more blood. He glared at Jake, breathing heavily as his temper finally snapped. "You bastard! You think you're so damn tough, don't you?!" he snarled, narrowing his eyes at the boy before him. "I'll give you tough!"

Like a wolf pouncing its prey, Garry lunged at Jake.

His shoulder made contact with Jake's chest, shoving him backwards, so much so that he lost his footing and tumbled over backwards. Garry remained upright, watching and panting as Jake fell. Watching as he collapsed on the ground among the stumps.

Watching as he struck the back of his head on the cinderblock that had fallen behind him.

'Wha-oh shit... that-that wasn't meant to happen!'

Let's show that private threads aren't necessary! I pledge not to start any private threads on island in V5. If I started a thread, you are welcome to join it.V5 CharactersB006: Darren Fox -Weapon(s): Lego "Creator" bucket /// Status: ALIVE /// Current location: Meltdown (Nuclear Plant - The Reactors)Thread chain: O | O=O=O | O=O=

It was happening quickly. Jake barely comprehended any of it. He was somewhere else.

Kill Rip Tear Beat Do it

Something snapped over his head. It felt almost like a pillow to him.

Ignore it He is not a nice man

The cinderblock vibrated slightly in his hand. Blood was drawn.

Use me I will solve all your problems

Something stung under his eye. His hand was suddenly light. Empty. The pain was getting worse.

Retrieve me I can help you

Everything was a multicolor blur. His headache suddenly spiked.

I am your friend

He was falling. The orange was above him now.

You need me

Everything went black. No more thoughts came.

-------------------------

Had Jake Crimson survived Survival of the Fittest, he would have been a new case study for psychologists everywhere. One of the best examples of the effects the terrorists' game had on the children's minds.

Jake Crimson was susceptible to schizophrenia. The condition was hereditary, passed down through his mother's side. However, it had never triggered. He remained undiagnosed throughout his entire life. Unfortunately for him, the stress of the game had gotten to him. Being an excellent cause to trigger symptoms, it hit. And thus, Jake Crimson attempted to kill someone on the orders of the one object that caused all his woes.

This one object was also what doomed him. A knockout blow from his own clumsiness on Day 2 did not merely leave him in the dark upon awakening. Cerebral aneurysms are a nasty, slow way to go.

Jake remained in a coma for the rest of the day. At approximately 1:03 AM, everything ended.

He never knew that, though. Unthinking. Unfeeling. As responsive as the grass he lay on. For seven hours, Jake Crimson was a vegetable.

18:38 GeneralGoose yep. having sex with trees is SOOOO me20:36 Ella I have had several threesomes with teddy bears13:41 Ruggadance THIS IS DIFFERENT AMPUTEE SEX 21:09 Bake I'll nom her.13:16 Ruggasexy I SAW THE SEXY STRIPPER PICTURES BEFORE I KNEW OUR ROOM WAS FULL OF SEX TOYS AND LINGERIE22:53 Ruggadressed You've got to be like Brosidon, king of the brocean 11 GeneralGoose [516] [1288] [267] 2086 Geno, remember when I told you sleep was a capitalist scam?24 Crash [165] [697] 873 wild, unbridled, rampaging weasel lust00:07 BetaKnight open wounds and fecal matter is a no-no

As Sunil's senses returned to him and his mind reorganised itself into something usable, he finally noticed what the hell was going on what in front of him, and began piecing together the situation.

In the chaotic struggle that was unfolding in front of him, Sunil considered getting involved, but Garry (who he presumed was the one who was most likely on his side) seemed to have it handled. And anyway, all Sunil could have done was throw cans at Jake's face. While throwing one of those useless cans in someone's face was one of his secondary goals for his time on the island, he decided against it. His bag was just out of his reach, and it may have hit Garry in the face, or missed by a wide margin.

So, he just held his ground, sweating in fear and trembling in anticipation. His eyes followed the fight, taking in every little detail. The cuts, bruises and wounds the two received.

It was a short fight; a suspenseful, brutal, vicious fight, but one that nevertheless ended fairly quickly. Before Sunil knew it, Jake was lying comatose on the floor.

Garry was still conscious, but he didn't look happy with what had just happened.

Cautiously, Sunil climbed to his feet, and began to edge towards the scene, his eyes firmly on Garry and Jake.

Garry just stared at Jake's limp form, mouth hanging slightly open in shock. There had been a sickening crack when the boy's skull hit the brick, and then he just laid there, small amounts of blood clinging to the edge of the heavy block. Garry was expecting Jake to leap up again, dismiss the blow to the back of his head as nothing and try to kill him again. But there was no trying to get up, there wasn't even any movement at all from the red-headed boy. He was barely breathing, and that was when Garry realised he'd probably fatally injured him.

'What the hell have I just done?!'

It wasn't meant to happen. He only wanted to knock Jake over so he wasn't able to attack. He hadn't accounted for the cinderblock being right behind Jake. He closed his eyes, willing himself to wake up as if the entire ordeal had all just been a nightmare. He opened them again, still greeted by the sight of Jake lying comatose amongst the tree stumps.

Garry blinked, the left half of his vision suddenly obscured when his eyelids reopened. He automatically brought his hand up to wipe away what was in his eye, pulling his fingers away from his face and staring at the glistening deep red liquid that covered them. There was blood on his trembling hand. It was his own, seeping from the painful head wound the cinderblock had created, but it didn't feel like his at all. Jake's blood on his hand, that's what it felt like instead. Garry was to blame for his death. It may have been an accident, he may have been acting in self defense, but regardless, Jake still ended up lying on the ground. Dying on the ground. Soon to be dead.

He gave out a short, hysterical gasp, both from pain and from the facts finally sinking into his mind. He'd as good as killed him, this person he barely knew. He was a killer, a murderer. His name, barring some miracle, was going to be read out during the next announcement. People were going to know he'd killed someone and wouldn't think of him the same ever again. Saul, the rest of the team, the rest of the students on the godforsaken island.

His family.

'Oh no... oh no... please tell me they're not watching right now...' Though he couldn't see them, he knew there had to be cameras all over the place, broadcasting his actions worldwide. Even if his parents weren't watching right now, it would only be a matter of time before they found out. How could he look at them in the eye ever again? His mother, father, Michel, Noah, Stephanie...

Throughout his anguish, Garry had completely forgotten about the boy he was supposed to be defending. But now he was up and about, seemingly unhurt (thank God) and was making his way towards Garry and the casaulty. 'Oh God, he saw me. He saw me do that to him.'

"I-you saw-I didn't mean to kill..." Garry stuttered, trying to explain himself to the Indian boy. "I didn't mean to..." He collapsed onto his knees, his shoulders rocking up and down as he began to sob.

"I didn't mean to..." he whispered.

Let's show that private threads aren't necessary! I pledge not to start any private threads on island in V5. If I started a thread, you are welcome to join it.V5 CharactersB006: Darren Fox -Weapon(s): Lego "Creator" bucket /// Status: ALIVE /// Current location: Meltdown (Nuclear Plant - The Reactors)Thread chain: O | O=O=O | O=O=

As the large, bearded boy before him tried to explain his actions to Sunil, Sunil's eyes darted between him and the comatose boy on the ground. In stark contrast to his somewhat manic, hostile behaviour a few moments before, the boy currently looked rather peaceful (aside from the slowly growing pool of blood coming out from his head), however as paranoid as Sunil currently was, he half expected him to jump back up again and gouge his eyes out. Still, from what it sounded like, Garry had acted and done all this to save Sunil's life, so he could probably be trusted.

If he couldn't, he could probably snap Sunil in half like a twig, but hey.

Giving Garry a cautious pat on the back in a token attempt to try and comfort him, Sunil then bent down and got a closer look at the apparent attacker. Up close, his pained, contorted face didn't look anywhere near as peaceful as he did from a distance, but he was still breathing. It was rough, inconsistent breathing, but he wasn't dead. Sunil hesitantly felt the boy's wrist for a pulse. After a second or two of fumbling around, he found it.

"He's not dead ye..."

Sunil cut himself off before he could finish that word.

Both he and Garry knew that it would only be a matter of time. Surviving shit like that was only plausibly survivable in the media. Yes, he had heard a few stories of people surviving things like that, but the rarity of those stories was what made them so special. A miracle wouldn't happen here, and Sunil wasn't even sure a miracle would be for the best.

Maybe Jake's condition was for the best. He was a potential threat, and maybe this was the most peaceful way to go. Yeah. It was for the best. For him, for Sunil, for Garry, for everyone.

Jake was brain-dead. Gone. A vegetable, doomed to die shortly. Mercy kills weren't exactly high on Sunil's to-do list, he'd always hated the thought of euthanasia and such, but the thought entered his mind.

Unsure of what to say or think, Sunil got back up to his feet, and turned to Garry. There was no need for asking him exactly what had happened; Sunil had already seen most of it. Quickly wiping some sleep from his eye, he placed his arm on Garry's back and quietly asked "You alright?"

The farther and farther she got from the tunnels, the less real everything seemed. Rena wasn't sure how long she'd been running, but her feet had stopped hurting a while back, even if her lungs still burned. She had stopped once to swallow some water, but since then had been keeping a steady pace in...whatever direction it was she was going in. She wasn't going to stop until she absolutely had too, until the tunnels were nothing but a hazy memory.

If she didn't look down at her feet, it was like she really had only stepped in water.

That'snotwater.

There was an unfortunate downside to not looking at her feet, however, which Rena became aware of when she kicked a tree stump, flipping over it in the process. Her face skidded along the dirt, and pain flared in her cheek, before it was overtaking by the throbbing of her feet, lungs, and throat. She pushed herself up, warily, her head spinning slightly from dehydration. Her fingers fumbled around her pack for a minute, trying to find out how she could reach the water inside of it.

It was then that she realized that she was not, in fact, alone.

She glanced up at the two other boys. Her head was still spinning, making it rather hard to distinguish who they were. "Uh...hey." Her voice cracked. She tried to swallow, but it just made the the pain in her throat explode. Water. Need water. Need water-

Her eyes caught something else. The color drained from Rena's face.

This boy still looked like a boy. She couldn't decide if that was worse or better.

It poured out of his skull, flooding the ground next to him. The same thing she'd been running from had wound up where she'd stopped.

Garry had expected Sunil to explode with rage at him for actually taking another person's life, had even halfway expected him to try and attack him or run him off. Instead, and Garry was extremely grateful for it, the Indian boy was comforting him. It was unexpected, but then again he really needed it. The shock and guilt and regret and worry, it was all eating away at him.

Footsteps.

Garry heard the noise and craned his head to face the direction it was coming from. A girl suddenly came sprinting past the area, tripping over a tree stump and falling flat on her face in what looked like a very painful manner. Garry was quick to respond, making his way over to the downed female.

"Hey are you okay?" he asked her, kneeling down in front of her as she pushed herself up. She glanced up at him and Sunil, muttered a brief hello, then her eyes drifted across to look elsewhere, her expression turning to one of horror. Garry's stomach twisted itself into knots as he turned to follow her line of sight, knowing that she must've just seen Jake's body.

There was no telling how the scene could've looked like to the newcomer. She might not have seen Jake trying to kill Sunil or seen him attacking Garry. It may have looked like an unprovoked attack on Garry's and Sunil's part. 'Oh crap, not good, not good at all,' Garry worried. He needed to clarify exactly what happened before she starting howling up the wrong tree and went in with all guns blazing.

"L-look, before you jump to anything or do anything, this... this wasn't meant to happen. He was trying to kill-"

BEEP

Garry jumped as his explanation was interrupted by the shrill noise coming from all four collars. Garry immediately took a sharp intake of breath and made a grab for the implement upon hearing it make the sound, though taking enough care not to violently pull on the explosive shackle and accidentally detonate it.

"What the hell was that?" he spoke, frantically looking around the place. Why had his collar just bleeped? What reason was there? He couldn't be in a danger zone, the area never got announced as one. 'What just happened? I don't understand...'

The loudspeakers crackled to life again, Garry looking up towards the skies. Danya was due to make yet another announcement. 'Is he going to explain what the fuck that was all about?'

Apparently not, instead he was going to inform them about Liz Polanski's exploits once more. The girl was still, according to Danya, meddling with his eqipment, and he was going to punish her actions by detonating another student's collar. 'Oh fuck, not this again,' Garry worriedly thought, sucking in air between his teeth. Someone out there was going to meet a grisly end again. It could be Jake, could be the girl, could be the boy he'd just saved, could be Saul. It could even be him.

In the end, it was Lucy Ashmore who'd paid the ultimate price. Even though he should've felt guilty for doing so, Garry breathed a sigh of relief, glad no one he knew personally, or any of the three around him (Jake didn't count, having his collar go off would probably be a blessing for him) suddenly had their neck blown open.

"But that's not all kiddos. Why, as we speak, little Liz is continuing her destructive ways, sabotaging my valuable equipment. Help me help you, children. If you take her out, then, well. My fingers won't slip again."

"Huh? She's-what the hell is she doing?!" Garry cried out. That Polanski girl just that second got someone else killed, and yet she was still choosing to damage equipment.

"Oops. Like then. B045, Alex Rasputin, eliminated."

"...Alex?" Garry murmered, staring straight at the source of the voice. And the fun was far from over.

Thankfully, Sunil's feeble attempts at comforting Garry had not backfired; in fact, far from responding in a hostile matter out of paranoia and hurt pride (which was Sunil feared would happen, taking his recent bad luck into account), Garry seemed to be thankful for the sympathy. Sunil was hardly an expert at reading others, but he was pretty sure that was what Garry was feeling.

Then again, Sunil was just taking silence for gratitude.

Unlike Garry, Sunil failed to notice the new arrival on the scene. His back was turned to her, and the already fairly inobservant boy was too preoccupied with dealing with Garry and wrestling with his own thoughts. His mind only registered her when Garry DID notice her and ran over to check on her. Judging that Garry had it handled and the girl didn't appear to be someone he knew well, Sunil kept his distance, walking towards the scene at a slow, cautious, steady pace.

Well, Garry did appear to have it handled well, but then this girl (Rena, that was her name! Her surname....irrelevant. He didn't THINK he knew any other Renas) noticed the body, which was still lying there, open to the elements and visible to any casual observer who had no idea of what led to the boy's current state.

Before Sunil (and, judging by his mumblings, Garry as well) could worry further about what the new arrival would think and whether she would come to any hasty conclusions (not that she appeared to be in much of a state to act on them), the speakers spluttered to life once again. Unlike the first time an irregular announcement happened (when Sunil wasn't even aware such a thing was possible, even under extreme circumstances for the terrorists), Sunil wasn't as thrown off by this one (the first one having sent him into a panic that his internal clock had gone crazy until things became clearer), but it still came as an unwelcome surprise.

Liz Polanski was still causing trouble for the terrorists. Yes, it was nice to know that the plans of the terrorists did have their holes and glitches to exploit, yes, Sunil wished her the best, but if her continued existence meant that every other hour his name could be drawn at random and his neck exploded into smitheroons, he wouldn't be alone in wishing that she'd just have a heart attack or slip on an icy patch or something. Sure, Danya may stop his collar-blowing-upping if she just stopped breaking Danya's shit, but Sunil wasn't sure about that.

And then the fat jolly prick decided to keep to his word and blow a few collars up.

Cunt.

The names held no real personal significance for Sunil, but they obviously did for Garry. That, or he really cared about all his classmates, even the random ones he didn't look at twice back in Minnesota.

Sunil wanted to try and comfort him again, but he looked like he might just try and let out his frustrations on Sunil if he got too close, so instead Sunil just stood back, barely paying a second thought to Rena, trying to rack his mind for a suitable response.

Rena kept her eyes closed for as long as she could, barely registering the other voice. He was explaining something to her. Did...did he kill that kid?

What kid? There isn't a kid. It's not real. It can't be-

BEEP

Her eyes flew open, and she jolted slightly from the sudden noise. It had come from...her neck? What?

Rena looked at the boy who was nearest to her, wondering if he had an answer, and then to the other one, who didn't seem to really be interested in her sudden arrival at all.

Her heart picked up pace as the announcements continued. He was blowing collars. Because of Liz...Liz. God, did Rena know Liz? Or Alex Rasputin? Wasn't he a killer? Why couldn't she remember?

Or better, why couldn't she forget? Why couldn't she just pretend that there were no announcements. That the boy in the tunnels, that the boy here were just...figments of her imagination? Why did it have to be real?

The boy who'd been talking to her was yelling. He knew them. He must have. She slammed her eyes shut. Not real. Not real. Not real. Make it go away.

She opened them again, turning to the boys. What was she doing? Crying? Again? Was that all she was capable of? I cried in the library. I cried when I got..when I got shot. I cried in the tunnels, I'm crying now. No. Crying isn't going to make it go away. Nothing will. It's real.

She took a shuddering breath.

Ridley. Raine. They tried to help me. They tried to help me and I ran away. They could be dying now, for all I know. They helped me and I ran.

The other boy didn't seem to be helping either. My whole life, people have been trying to help me, and I've just freaked out and cried. It's time I repaid the favor, isn't it?

She pushed herself off the ground, staggering slightly. She knew that she probably would be crying again by the next day. But right now, it didn't matter. She had made a decision, and she was going to stick to it for however long she could.

"God dammit, WHY?!" Garry bellowed, breaking down in front of Sunil and Rena. Someone up there appeared to have it in for the werewolf-fan. His friends, allies and aquaintences were all dropping like flies through one way or another. Garry sniffed, clearing his nose of mucus that was starting to clog up his nostrils. He was crying again. He never cried this much back home, not even when he badly sprained his wrist a few years back while ice skating with his siblings.

The anger, the urge to scream his lungs out slowly subsided, replaced by sadness along with a burning sensation at the back of his throat. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Rena standing before him, asking if he was alright.

"Yeah... yeah, I'll be fine... I think. I'm-I'm sorry," Garry hoarsely apologised, wiping his eye with the back of his hand, careful to avoid the head-wound. "Alex and Trent... I-I knew them, they were on my team, they-they were good people." Whether Alex really was as good as Garry said was up for debate though, since he had apparently killed two people earlier on. "It's just... that bastard."

He sniffed again, wondering just how much snot his body was capable of producing. "I'm Garry, and this is..." Garry trailed off as it occured to him that he never found out the Indian boy's name. And he never knew the name of his attacker either. 'Jack, Jacob? His last name was a colour, wasn't it? Red?' He struggled to put the pieces together in his mind, coming up with nothing useful. "I don't know his name, sorry," he said, turning to Sunil.

He glanced down at Jake, who looked peaceful like he was only taking a nap. "He... he tried to kill the other guy. I came along and he tried to take me out. I pushed him away and he fell on the brick." His eyes wandered to the cinderblock resting under Jake's head, the surface glistening with his still-wet blood. "I-I don't think he's going to wake up again..."

Garry didn't want to be around with Jake's body. He wanted to just leap up and run away from it, but he lacked the energy to do anything. His legs felt like they'd been reduced to jelly and were trembling slightly. He feared that if he tried to stand up, his legs would just give out on him and he'd just crumple to the ground again.

Let's show that private threads aren't necessary! I pledge not to start any private threads on island in V5. If I started a thread, you are welcome to join it.V5 CharactersB006: Darren Fox -Weapon(s): Lego "Creator" bucket /// Status: ALIVE /// Current location: Meltdown (Nuclear Plant - The Reactors)Thread chain: O | O=O=O | O=O=